After winning two games in their inaugural season of college basketball, the IU Columbus women have doubled that mark at the midway point of this season.
The Crimson Pride won for the third time in four games and improved to 2-0 in the River States Conference with a 70-55 win Saturday afternoon against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
Hadassah Hurt
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence,” said Hadassah Hurt, a freshman from Columbus North. “We’re kind of making history at our school right now for only being our second year. We’re just defying the odds. It’s exciting.”
The win also gave James Adams his second win in as many games as interim coach. Adams, who is IUC’s head men’s coach, took over as interim women’s coach when Reena Haliburton stepped away for a personal leave. Haliburton has returned as an assistant.
“I think it was a great win, especially to start the season off in conference undefeated,” Adams said. “It gives them confidence to let them know they can compete.”
Abby Fleetwood was the catalyst to the most recent victory, leading the Crimson Pride (4-10, 2-0) with 27 points, 15 rebounds and eight steals.
“I think it gives us a lot of motivation, especially since we were ranked last in the conference in the preseason poll,” said Fleetwood, a junior from Indian Creek.
IUC trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to 28-24 at halftime. The Crimson Pride trailed 32-26 when a free throw and 3-pointer by Hurt sparked a 21-4 run that gave them a 47-36 lead late in the third quarter.
“We kind of cut down our 3-pointers because that wasn’t working, so we got it inside and that started leading to buckets,” Hurt said.
“We focused more on driving and being in rhythm for our 3-pointers,” Fleetwood added.
Morgan Montgomery scored 12 points, and Amaya Collins added 11 points and six assists for IUC. Hurt finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“We’re down some players today,” Adams said. “We only had eight suited up, but I think the ladies persevered, faced adversity and just basically played their butts off the second half. The adjustments going into the third quarter, the ladies took everything with the instructions that I gave them and applied it to the game.”
Meanwhile, in the men’s game that followed, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods handed the Crimson Pride a 79-63 defeat. IUC (2-12, 0-2) rallied from a 15-point deficit to within six, but the Pomeroys pulled away.
“We just can’t get over the hump for some reason,” Adams said. “We’ll make adjustments. We’ll implement our defensive scheme and hopefully it pays off, and it did a few times. But then even we get the ball back, and we just can’t execute. That’s what we have to focus on, maybe changing our style right out of the door, so they can have that mindset from start to finish. I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re dealing with moving forward.”
Trevin Lieck led IUC with 19 points and six rebounds. Jermayn Baxter had 14 points and three steals, and Damontae Thompson added 12 points and five assists.
The Crimson Pride men will host Brescia at 6 p.m. Tuesday, while the women visit Brescia Tuesday.
